Impact of aging technique and muscle on oxidative stability of beef packaged under high-oxygen atmosphere

Two common approaches for beef aging are wet-aging and carcass-aging.
Wet-aging refers to meat aged in a sealed vacuum package at refrigerated
temperatures, while carcass aged at controlled temperatures and humidity is
defined as carcass-aging. Carcass-aging is an ancient process used nowadays
to produce beef characterized by its superior quality. The meat conservability
is influenced by its sensitivity to oxidative process which can vary from one
muscle to another. The aim of this study was to compare the effect of aging
technique (wet-aging vs. carcass-aging), muscle (longissimus dorsi vs. rectus
femoris) and previous vacuum storage time on colour and lipid stability of beef
packaged in high-oxygen atmosphere. After a seven-day wet- or carcass-aging
step, longissimus dorsi and rectus femoris muscle cuts from 4 Belgian Blue
cows were vacuum packaged and stored at −1 °C for up to 28 days. At
different times, part of these samples was repackaged under modified
atmosphere – 70 % O2:30 % CO2 –, and stored during 7 days at +4 °C in
order to simulate retail conditions. The following parameters were evaluated:
colour (CIE L*a*b*), metmyoglobin %, lipid oxidation (TBARS), antioxidant
enzyme activities (catalase, glutathione peroxidase and superoxide
dismutase), alpha-tocopherol and fat content. The sensitivity of high-oxygen
atmosphere repacked meat cuts to oxidation was influenced by the aging
technique (wet > carcass conditions), muscle (rectus femoris > longissimus
dorsi) and length of the vacuum storage. Oxidation stability could be associated with muscle catalase activity, and no association could be established with the alpha-tocopherol content.